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Wednesday, December 7, 2016

From the crack of dawn Black Friday shopping, to the
beautiful twinkling lights that seem to appear little by little, like the stars
peeking out, to the building excitement of my two little girls, to the festive
feeling you get everywhere. Sure,
your weekends are booked and there’s plenty to do, but it just feels so…happy.

I’m the furthest from a Scrooge or a Grinch. I’m a Who –
humming merrily as I wrap and decorate and love the excess.

But yeah, it’s busy. It’s exhausting. I love seeing the
magic unfold through my children’s eyes, but I’m also the one making the magic.
And I can love it and still feel exhausted.

Not only am I trying to do cards, shop and wrap, manage the
schedule, clean and decorate, be Santa and the Elf and the magic maker, but I’m
doing it mostly solo. Adam is traveling a minimum of three days every single
week leading up to Christmas this year. He’s home enough to participate in the
merriment – the parties and performances and family activities like Santa
visits and getting the tree – but the majority of the prep falls to me.

If I let it, that merriment can be squashed and replaced
with stress. It would be so easy to
let that stress get to me. To grumble about the decorating that I do not have time for. To curse the
stupid Elf. To complain about the excess and booked weekends and the are you kidding me that we have a dance rehearsal NOW. I’ve seen it
happen. I don’t want to be a crab throughout December, just counting down the
days until December 26.

So planning, scheduling, and reflecting is not just nice,
it’s critical. If I’m not filling my
tank, I’ll run out of gas long before I welcome the family for Christmas Eve
dinner.

Planning

At the beginning of the season, I make my Christmas planner.
I make that scary to-do list that spans multiple pages and gets into ridiculous
levels of detail, right down to “book sitter for Christmas party” and “get cash
for group gift contributions” and “make sure the girls have tights that fit
with their Christmas dresses.” I have sections for gifts, for cards, for
budgets, for decorating, for little details. I’m a “write it down and remember
it” girl. I’m a to-do dinosaur who loves her planner. If I write it down, I’m
in control of it.

Scheduling

I’m not just talking about the calendar. I’m talking about my time. Adam is normally the coffee
maker and the early riser. He gets up with the girls. He brews the coffee and
pours my mug. When Adam is gone, I give myself an hour before the girls get up,
and an hour after they go to bed. In the morning, I make my coffee, I sit in
the big cozy armchair, and I drink it in the quiet house. Once I’ve finished
that, I can turn back to the to do list with a fresh eye. If I wait until the
girls are up, that coffee will sit in the mug while I try to catch up. Having
that time to mentally get myself ready is critical.

The other scheduling I do makes sure that I don’t get too
wrapped up in any one task. I set a timer and give myself a set amount of time
for things. I give myself an hour to work on decorating before that timer dings
and I move on. I see how much wrapping I can get done in forty-five minutes. I
know myself. I’ll get so wrapped up that I’ll end up awake at midnight,
overtired and frustrated.

So if I put the girls to be at eight, I have three hours.
Two for prep and one for relaxation. Then, I’m done. The next day will be there.

Reflecting

This is my relaxation time. It’s very, very easy to let this slide over the holidays, especially with a
traveling husband. I’m doing the work of two parents and swamped with holiday
prep, so who has time for sipping coffee or reading or journaling or bubble
baths? Me, that’s who. I will make it
happen. I give myself that hour once the girls are in bed to take care of me. And I wake up early when I’m alone
so I can have that coffee time.

I just tried Bulletproof coffee, and it is giving me that
extra edge I need. Coffee is necessary to get those feet moving, but bad coffee
can actually get me started on the wrong foot.
I don’t have time to feel sluggish or sick. I was always intrigued by the idea of blending butter and seeing what it could really do for me, and now that I've tried it, the real way, I know it's not all hype.

Bulletproof Coffee uses
great quality coffee, a high octane
brain boost supplement (kind of like a coconut oil, but even more effective)
and the good fat in either ghee or grass-fed butter for long lasting,
metabolism boosting, good energy that will last through the whole day – even a
busy and stressful December day. It’s low toxin, high performance, and full of
healthy fats to fuel even the most overwhelming days of holiday prep.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Back in 2013, when both this blog and Reagan were heading into their toddler years, we visited Holiday Lights at Lake Compounce. I was still green enough to stress about covering every single aspect and paranoid that I wouldn't do a good enough job. And Reagan was firmly into her "if I can't do exactly what I want I will have a massive tantrum" stage. And since what she wanted to do was take her shoes and socks off in 30 degree weather, we were battling, she was wailing, and we were both on the verge of totally losing it. I was nearly in tears over the prospect of giving up and going home, and Reagan was in tears and quickly approaching the point of no return.

Then we saw the lights. The thousands and thousands of colorful, twinkling, sparkling, shining lights, radiating from every space in the park. And the lights were magic, mesmerizing us both enough to breathe and take it all in, resetting us to the joy of the season being welcomed in.

Now, both Reagan and I are seasoned enough where the meltdowns are few and far between. I panic less about being perfect, she copes better with frustration.

But the lights are still magic.

We visited Lake Compounce the Saturday after Thanksgiving this year. Although we usually go as a family of four, this year our group swelled to include my parents and my sister, complete with her family. We bundled into our winter gear to enjoy the magic together.

My girls visited the park in the summer for the first time this past year, so they were familiar with the rides and loved the idea of going back, all bundled up, in the dark and cold of a winter night. Yet during Holiday Lights, the dark was punctuated by glowing, festive lights. Not all the rides are open, but Kiddieland was, as well as the train, which transformed into the North Pole Railway. The ride was long and chilly, but it gave us views of lighted decorations we wouldn't have been able to see from anywhere else.

Carousel

Reagan's favorite ride!

Dinosaur area was AMAZING!

One of the best parts of the decorations is the tree, which was new this year. This tree was amazing. It is straight out of a Christmas fairy tale. One hundred feet tall and completely covered in seven hundred thousand white lights, it was a sight to behold. Every night, the tree is lit by someone new, and the night we went, the girls had the opportunity to work Santa's light box. Magic.

Another new addition this year was the food trucks. I need to give a huge shout out to 744 Express. The New Yorker sandwich that Adam enjoyed was unreal, and the chefs went above and beyond to make sure everyone had a satisfying experience. It was hard to tear ourselves away from the hot sandwiches and hot dogs which warmed every part of us. The girls loved the bacon cheeseburger balls from Chompers, which were little fried balls of deliciousness. All the food trucks fit in with the theme of food that warms and fills you - just like the lights.

To stay warm, we had our Lake Compounce mugs. For only $8, you can refill your mug with hot cider, hot chocolate, or coffee all night long and keep warm as you walk around. Definitely a great investment for a chilly night (and if you buy your mug online, you save another dollar and get it for only $7).

Double fisting hot chocolate!

Holiday Lights is open on Friday nights from 5-9 and Saturdays and Sundays from 4-9 through December 18. Tickets are 12.99 online for adults (15.99 at the gate) and 10.99 for children (free for under 3s!) If you use my promo code MeredithToMommyHLBlog17 you'll get an additional dollar off adult admission - only 11.99 for a night of holiday magic!

Cold and tired, but glowing just the same!

TIPS TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE MAGICAL:

Arrive just before the gates open to see the tree lit. It's worth it.

If you're planning on visiting Santa, time it how it will best work for you. The line was much shorter when the park first opened, but it was also nice to get inside and warm up after a few hours of being out in the cold.

The train ride is well worth it, but cold - it felt colder than rest of the park. I saw several families bring blankets with them to snuggle up together. If you have a backpack, it's worth it.

Definitely get the refillable cup. It's well worth it. I kept myself warm with a constant stream of hot cider!

Buy tickets online. Not only will it expedite your entrance into the park, but you save money!

Bundle up. We went on a relatively mild day where we just wore heavy fleece jackets out and about. But once that sun goes down, it is cold! Gloves, scarves, hats, boots and warm coats!

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

When people see Madison out and about during the typical school day hours this year, she's a magnet for questions.

"No school today?"

"Aren't you old enough for school?"

She's
on the taller side. She can, depending on the day, look older than six.
At the very least, she doesn't look younger. To adults on the outside,
she looks like she should be spending the daytime hours in a first grade
classroom. When they see her out with me, they think day off, they
think doctor appointment, they might just be confused. But most adults
don't immediately think homeschooling. Because if you're
homeschooled...aren't you home?

And sure, sometimes we
are. But a lot of the time, we're not. When people ask me how
homeschooling is going and if we like it, I usually tell them that I
love how freeing it is. I'm responsible for educating my daughter, but
we can do it anywhere.

And that's weird to a lot
of people. They still have a mental picture of Madison, sitting alone
at a desk, looking wistfully out the window. Or, for whatever reason,
they picture us traveling the world, tromping through fields and woods.
But today's homeschoolers, at least a lot of them, are really somewhere
in the middle. Sometimes they're home, sitting and doing written work.
Sometimes they're on a "field trip". But sometimes, they're just out.

Madison
and I discovered this year that we both work well in the "coffeeshop"
environment. At home, we get distracted. There are toys and laundry and
dishes and books and technology that steal our focus. The library is too
quiet - we need a dull din where we feel free to talk to each other.
But at Starbucks, I pull out my laptop, and she pulls out her clipboard
and binder of work, we both become productive, and we have our school
day out. Not on a great learning experience of the economy of
coffeeshops, just work on the road.

We get a lot of
looks. We start a lot of conversations. But we get to educate people
about the fact that Madison can be in first grade while:

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

If there's one stain I hate cleaning, it's something sticky. And stubborn.
Ok, that's not fair. I generally don't like cleaning any stains. But lately I've been cleaning a lot of sticky ones, and it stinks. Stickers and tattoos that I missed and somehow ended up getting washed and dried on shirts and sheets and blankets.

And gum.

Gum is the worst. The worst.

Reagan
doesn't chew gum. She's not really interested, and we've never really
messed with that. But Madison was offered a piece of gum by a friend one
day when she was about five, and she's been hooked ever since. As long
as she follows our gum rules, I know that I'll just be encouraging the
"forbidden fruit" if I don't allow it. She's gotten a ban once and
finally earned the right back about six months ago.
The rules are simple.

1. Once it goes in, gum stays in your mouth until you are ready to throw it away.
2. Gum gets wrapped up and thrown away in trash cans only.

Easy, right?

Well,
a few weeks ago, she had one of those dark side of homeschooling
mornings. The kind where, because she's home, and I'm home, she has to
run a long, boring, not kid friendly errand with me. It's a trade off.
We sat at the AT&T store for over an hour, trying to fix, and then
basically rebuild, my dead phone. Then she did workbook pages while I
pretty much ignored her while I tried to get my phone back to the way I
like it. Then we had to go pick up a prescription, and we had to wait at
the pharmacy, and she was starting to lose it.

So,
like the fantastic mom I am, I offered her a bribe. Chose any bag of
candy from the store's 99 cent selection. All the vintage treats were
there - gumdrops and store brand swedish fish and smarties and ....
bubblegum. Individually wrapped, pink square bubblegum. She chose that.

We
went over the gum rules again, and I let her get it. She happily popped
a piece in her mouth, we finished our errands, picked up Reagan, and
continued on with our day. Adam was out of town, so after dance class I
offered to take the girls out to dinner (honestly a bigger win for me
than for them). Madison was warm from her class, and it was a mild
evening, so I didn't think anything of the fact that she carried, rather
than wore, her team jacket. She tossed it onto the car seat with her
dance bag.

By the time we reached the restaurant, it was chilly, but she suddenly refused to put the jacket on.

And then I saw why.

Before
dance, she'd apparently spit out her gum, but realized that she threw
away the wrapper. Rather than ask me what to do, or carry it into the
building to the trash can, she just put it on her seat to deal with
later. And when she tossed her jacket on the same seat after dance, she
put that jacket right onto the forgotten gum, then weighed it down with
her bag. When she picked it up later...that gum was firmly squished into
her expensive, personalized, only available through special order,
mandatory teamwear, jacket. Oh, and onto the car seat too.

My
new favorite sticky stain remover? Hot vinegar. I'm a pretty big
"vinegar is a magical cleaner" person anyway, but I never thought that
it would have a different impact under a different temperature. Hot
vinegar literally lifted the wad of gum off both the jacket and the
seat. I wish I'd had someone videoing it as it happened (I was actually
tempted to put gum on something old so I could do this, but making an
intentional mess seems wrong).

One the bulk was lifted
off by the hot vinegar, both spots were left with residue the texture
of a sticker back. Here's where the cleaning differs. I cover the car
seat in the link above, so I'll talk about the jacket here. I saturated
the stain in Goo Gone and washed it with my load already in the washer.
This made no difference to the stickiness and I was about to get upset,
before I looked at my research more carefully. It's suggested to
saturate in Goo Gone, let it sit for a long time, then wash alone with
double detergent. This seemed like a wasted wash to me, but then I
realized that not being able to salvage the jacket was a worse choice,
so I tried it.

Magic.

I pulled the
jacket out from it's solo journey in the washing machine with TWO Tide
Pods...and it was perfect. PERFECT. No residue, no "oil mark" from the
Goo Gone. It looked brand new.

So gum might be the worst, but discovering a new way to tackle it without stress is the best!

Saturday, October 29, 2016

My girls are usually really good in parking lots and when we walk near traffic, but it seems like on Halloween all those habits start to be forgotten. As the girls are getting older, they are doing less walking with us, hand in hand, and more running from house to house with a group of friends while we wait at the sidewalks. It's fun, and I love seeing how much they love trick or treating with friends, but it definitely gets me worried.

This year, as we sit eating our absurdly early dinner on Halloween night, we will go over all those rules that are normally habit. Stay on the sidewalk (or, in our neighborhood, the side of the road opposite traffic). Only cross at corner. Carry a light - either a glow stick or a flashlight. Stay with an adult.

But we're not the only ones in control. I know that last year when we drove to our friend's house, I was an extremely nervous driver as we navigated the streets full of kids. I'm normally not a speed demon to begin with, but I was driving about 15 mph and focusing completely on the road - not on my kids and their excited backseat chatter, not on the radio, not on my excitement over stealing peanut butter cups from the treat bags later. Drivers need to be cautious on Halloween night too.

No, it's not the most exciting part of the holiday. The girls already moan and groan as I start my little speeches about manners and safety, but it's important. Come Halloween Night, hopefully at least some of it will stick, and I can have an anxiety free Halloween!

Friday, October 28, 2016

As Halloween creeps closer, it feels like we've already been celebrating all week. I don't feel like I had multiple days of events leading up to Halloween when I was a kid, but we're in the age of bigger and more and I shouldn't be surprised that Halloween is a multi-day, multi-activity event.

The girls had me a little worried this year. For weeks Reagan had been obsessed with dressing up as Maleficent, and even managed to convince Madison to join her villain club as the Evil Queen (a surprising triumph, considering that Madison was scared of her for quite a while when she first saw Snow White). I thought this was a cool idea, until it was time to actually get my hands on the costumes. Turns out that finding villain costumes for small kids is actually pretty tricky. I could find costumes in adult sizes, but it seemed that I would have to craft the smaller sizes myself. I'm not crafty, so this worried me.

Then we went to Target with my mom, and as we browsed the Halloween section, and I snapped pictures of adult sized Maleficent dresses for inspiration, the girls became obsessed with two seemingly random costumes, totally unrelated to any characters, and changed their minds on the spot. Both were thrilled with their new choices, didn't care that they were unrelated to each other, and we bought them.

Admittedly, I did hang them in the coat closet with the receipts attached, just in case. I don't trust them.

So a Rainbow Unicorn and a Sassy Sparkle Witch it was.

They dressed up for school and dance. Reagan's preschool class actually trick or treats to the surrounding businesses, which is adorable.

They attended our annual, over the top, Halloween party where they ate themselves silly, danced until they dropped, carved jack o lanterns, decorated desserts, and made crafts. The food is great, the activities and decorations are awesome, and it's one of their favorite events all year.

We went to our first Trunk or Treat. These seem to be popping up all over the place, but for some reason, we've never made it to one. I don't know why, because it was awesome. Some people went all out and the cars were fantastic works of art. There were plenty of cars, but because they were all so close together and there was no traffic to watch out for, the girls covered a lot of territory very quickly. Maybe next year we'll decorate our car!

Trick or treating is still a few days away, and hopefully they won't be burned out by the time the big night arrives! Somehow I think they'll manage!

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